I have a client who has had back, neck and shoulder massage 3 times with no problems. Today she had a short Indian Head treatment (a gentle one as she is 64) and she took seriously ill 15 mins into it. I stopped immedietely when she told me she was feeling sick and dizzy. She then started to vomit and passed out. As her speech seemed slurry on coming round and she was pale and clammy i phoned the paramedics . Her blood pressure was very low and she kept passing out so they took her to hospital.
Shes home now so thats good news but although they are waiting on blood results the consultant couldnt find anything wrong with her and told her it was very likely that I had caused her condition by giving her IH massage. I have done hundreds of treatments over the 7 year period as a therapist and this has never ever happened before. Im gutted that the doctor has laid the blame on me and feel sad, angry and frustrated right now.
Has anyone in the whole of their careers come across this before where an Indian head massage could possible cause the client to become so sick. I have 2 Indian head treatments booked in tomorrow but at the moment i dont feel very confident now !!
Strange are the ways of energy. You never can say what it is going to do next, you can only allow it.
Ih massage can certainly cause that, whether it happens a lot or not is another story.
and that does not mean you caused it. You did not cause it. It happened despite you
It was some huge shift that took place, but you didn't quite know how to deal with it because it was neither in your training nor in your experience. Most practitioners would have done what you did. Call the ambulance then feel crap about the whole thing.
Had it been a great 'positive' shift to look at, it is likely that you would have owned it with something on the lines... she felt so calm that she could not open her eyes for half an hour. etc There is a chance the massage, if not you personally, would have earned the credit there.
But this incident shaped in a way that it threw you Here you were doing your routine little thing and sickness, vomit and the rest of it. No credit there obviously, but blame now!
The trouble is we take way too much credit and blame for things. Too much! almost entirely. In fact, entirely. Things happen on their own. Good and bad both, but we jump in the equation and start owning them. Puffing ourselves up over 'good; ones and deflating over 'bad' ones.
See clearly that the game is too big. One's training, experince, skills, gifts are too miniscule to suss the game, let alone direct it this way or that. Knowing is too little-unknowing is vast. Most things arise and function from the vast unknowing. The knowing is only the tip of the tip, of ice-berg.
Have no guilt, have no blame. You didn't set out to do all that-it is frankly happened on its own, beyond your control. You were just there, when it happened. That's all.
Pretty much like weather, it does its own thing. Can you take credit for a lovely day or blame for a wet blustery day?
Allow the feelings of sadness, frustration, anger, worry for its repercussions on your business etc. Thats all you can do...and that is enough. You will feel free.
Embracing inadequacy is liberating beyond belief. We are all inadequate - is some insight. Yet marvellous things happen through us, as and when they want to happen and crap things do too, as and when they want to. Pure movement of consciousness.
Stay with your feelings, allow and embrace them. It might just be the beginning of some deep insight into the joy of unknowing.
You will be just fine
Tracey - how scary for you. However, I think the doctor was completely out of order saying that you caused it. She must have had some underlying condition, that just happened to surface when you were treating her. I totally doubt that IHM could induce an illness.
In the 34 years I've been a therapist, I have had to call an ambulance once, and another time took a client to straight to his GP.
The first instance was a woman who came to me, but did not look well as she came into the treatment room, and on questioning, said "I fee quite unwell dear' - then slumped to the floor! I was terrified. The paramedics were brilliant, and I went with her to the hospital. She, too, was very sick, and was found to have a bladder infection! She didn't want to let me down by cancelling the appointment even though she hadn't felt well for about 24 hours..... I still see her regularly and we laugh about it now!
The second instance was a man who arrived for reflexology, who looked very tired. I'd seen him many times, but something made me suspicious about his whole demeanour. I didn't ask him to get ready for the treatment. I just sat and chatted to him, but something just wasn't right. I said I thought he needed to be seen by his doctor (in the next village), so took him in my car. The surgery staff were brilliant, and he was seen immediately. He was having a stroke. I also see him regularly, and he was so grateful that I was suspicious that day!
These occurrences are very very rare, Tracey - so treat it as something you can learn from and move on. As you say, you have done hundreds of treatments in your career - and this is the first experience of an 'emergency', which you coped with professionally.
Big hug from Jabba! :grouphug:
Jnani
Thankyou so much for your interesting reply. I understand what you are saying ( you have a lovely way of making things sound simple and clear)
After a troubled nights sleep thinking of ways i may have contributed ie room being way to warm, or should i have waited longer to treat as she had had a 24 hr virus a week ago . I have woke up this morning with a feeling of acceptance that what has happened has happened. I can choose either to stay with it or move forward.
I can relate to what your saying about the huge shift. The lady in question is a private person that has kept alot of painful things to herself for many many years, however she has started opening up and sharing with me many horrific things in her past over the last 4 weeks . ( i keep thinking of the phrase sick to the stomache) this may well have been her way of letting some of these things go.
looking at it from a different perspective has lifted the gloomy feeling ive had so thankyou once again x
I can relate to what your saying about the huge shift. The lady in question is a private person that has kept alot of painful things to herself for many many years, however she has started opening up and sharing with me many horrific things in her past over the last 4 weeks . ( i keep thinking of the phrase sick to the stomache) this may well have been her way of letting some of these things go.
Strong physical reactions are not at all uncommon during the processing of trauma - as you say she started opening up and telling you about her experiences - and massage will have certainly helped to release some of the "frozen" emotions from the body, and the combination of the two can have a really powerful effect - some of which may be intense and sometimes a little scary. (Passing out is a common form of dissociation for people who have been traumatised, which is a protective mechanism. I do a lot of work with trauma in the context of psychotherapy and clients feeling sick and dizzy, as well as blood pressure dropping, is not at all unusual during the treatment.)
So it does seem that your treatment may have facilitated some trauma processing - and it is a shame that the doctor chose to interpret it as a "problem caused by IHM" - I guess this interpretation may frighten the client who may now choose to avoid this treatment, which could in fact be really beneficial.
Masha
Jnani
Thankyou so much for your interesting reply. I understand what you are saying ( you have a lovely way of making things sound simple and clear)After a troubled nights sleep thinking of ways i may have contributed ie room being way to warm, or should i have waited longer to treat as she had had a 24 hr virus a week ago . I have woke up this morning with a feeling of acceptance that what has happened has happened. I can choose either to stay with it or move forward.
I can relate to what your saying about the huge shift. The lady in question is a private person that has kept alot of painful things to herself for many many years, however she has started opening up and sharing with me many horrific things in her past over the last 4 weeks . ( i keep thinking of the phrase sick to the stomache) this may well have been her way of letting some of these things go.
looking at it from a different perspective has lifted the gloomy feeling ive had so thankyou once again x
Glad the gloominess is lifted
Excellent and helpful replies here. Thank you for all your input Jnani, Jabba and Masha.
Innerpeace, I am sure you must feel calmer about this incident now.
Yes Caroline
im very grateful for everyones comments and as the day is going by I am starting to feel much calmer about it all. i do try to look for the lessons to be learnt (or remembered) in everything i do and i will take something from this experience.
Jabba
Thankyou for sharing your experiences it has helped to know that someone else has been in a similar position and how they handled it (which was brilliant in your case) It is very frightened seeing someones whole demeaner change . i was alone with an elderley friend of mine a few years back and she was having mini strokes. All the emergency first aid training goes out the window when your in a state of shock because you just dont expect it when they seem fine one minute and the next they're slurring and talking jubberish, the face droops and they look spaced out and detached.very scary to witness!
Marsha
Thankyou for your comments . Yes unfortunately my client has decided never to have this treatment again for fear of it happening again. I'm taking the afternnoon off work to go visit her later and when shes feeling better im going to talk to her about energy and how it can affect us physically and mentally. Im not sure how open she will be though as it seemed to go over her head when i was explaing how different treatments can work when she first came to me .
Once again A big Thankyou to everyone .
Tracy xx